The invention relates to a liquid-filled damper for a shock-sensitive apparatus, comprising a base part and an elastic cover part.
Such a damper is known from JP-A-07 071 507. The cover part of this known damper has an elastic indentation provided for accommodating a locking pin. In a shock-sensitive apparatus, the base part of the liquid-filled damper is fixed either to the housing or to a shock-sensitive unit of the apparatus. In a corresponding manner, either the shock-sensitive unit or the housing has one or more locking pins engaging the indentation of the elastic cover part of the damper. The shock-sensitive unit is thereby suspended elastically and damped in the housing of the shock-sensitive apparatus. This known construction has the drawback that the locking pin and the damper must be first mounted separately and that only subsequently the locking pin is forced into engagement with the indentation in the cover part.
It is an object of the invention to provide a liquid-filled damper and a method of manufacturing such a damper, which can be manufactured and mounted in an easier and more reliable way.
According to the invention, this object is achieved for the damper in that the liquid-filled damper comprises an integrated fixation element, and in that the base part and the integrated fixation element are connected by means of the elastic cover part.
The fixation element is thus an integral part of the liquid-filled damper. The elastic cover part is connected to the integrated fixation element and to the base part. Preferably, the integrated fixation element is arranged in the center of the elastic cover part, and is surrounded by the elastic cover part. The fixation element is thus elastically connected in a damped manner to the base part.
In one advantageous implementation of the invention, the integrated fixation element may be implemented, for example, as a snap, click or locking element. The base part and the integrated fixation element are preferably made of the same synthetic material. However, different, substantially non-elastic synthetic materials are also possible for the base part and the integrated fixation element. Such a damper can be made easily at low cost, preferably by means of multi-component molding.
In one advantageous implementation of the invention, the integrated fixation element may be implemented, for example, as a bush which, for fixation to a counter piece, can be pulled through a hole in the counter piece and is thus automatically clamped in place. The cover part and the integrated fixation element in this embodiment are preferably made of the same material, particularly rubber.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fixation element is implemented as a fixation pin. Such a fixation pin is very favorable from a manufacturing-technical point of view and can be fixedly connected in a simple way to elements of the shock-sensitive apparatus, for example, by pressing into a fixation hole of the shock-sensitive apparatus. Moreover, such a connection is very reliable. In one advantageous implementation of the invention, the fixation pin extends beyond the elastic cover part. This part of the fixation pin extending beyond the elastic cover part may be fixed, for example, in a fixation hole of the shock-sensitive apparatus. On the other hand, the fixation pin also extends into the inner, liquid-filled part of the damper. The movement of the fixation pin is thereby damped by the liquid within the damper.
One advantageous implementation of the invention has the advantage that particularly satisfactory damping properties can be achieved with this implementation.
According to the invention, the object of the invention is solved for an electronic apparatus in that the damper comprises an integrated fixation element, in that the base part and the integrated fixation element are connected by means of the elastic cover part, in that either the integrated fixation element is fixed to the housing and the base part is fixed to the shock-sensitive unit, or in that the integrated fixation element is fixed to the shock-sensitive unit and the base part is fixed to the housing.
In such an electronic apparatus, the damper and the shock-sensitive unit can be mounted in a simple manner. No separate mounting of the fixation elements and the damper is required.
Particularly apparatuses for reading or writing information on an optical record carrier are suitable as electronic apparatuses because the optical read and/or write units of such apparatuses must be very satisfactorily damped against vibrations from the outside for operation without disturbance. Particularly strict requirements are imposed on apparatuses which are adapted to be built into vehicles because such apparatuses are subject to multiple vibrations during the drive.
For the method according to the invention, the object is solved by the steps of
molding a base part and a fixation element from a substantially non-elastic synthetic material, and
molding a cover part from an elastic synthetic material, the base part and the fixation element being connected together by means of the elastic cover part.
This method is a multi-component molding method. In a first step, the base part and the fixation element, for example, the fixation pin, are molded from a synthetic material. These two synthetic material molded parts are then fixed in the desired position and, in a subsequent step, the cover part made of an elastic material, preferably an elastic synthetic material, is molded onto the base part at one end and to the fixation element at the other end. Such a method is very simple and inexpensive because the complete damper can be manufactured from one piece, and no separate manufacture and mounting of the fixation elements is necessary.
These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.